The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-07-21
MR.. FARWELL'S SPEECH.
A Good Temperance L ecture-Pro-
hibitlon, Both Moral and
Political

dressd a medium sized audience at the
court house last night. He was an
nounced on the streets during the day to
tempt to do, unless, mayhap, his charge
that Mr.. Grain had made misstatements
can be taken as an "answer." The crowd
was SLOW i'll gathering. At half-past
eight O'Clock there were not more than
forty people in the court room. A
brass band was put out on the bal
cony and one or two airs were given
DR.. Fisher, Rev. DR.. Wright and Mr.
Hill, sitting together, discussed the qnes'
ton whether Mr.. Farwell should begin
speaking at once, or should wait awhile
Mr.. Hill was in favor of waiting, and re-
marked in hearing Of the reporter: "Let
the band play some more-get up noise,
that's the principal thing, anyhow" The
band played some more, and the people
struggled in until finally there we're about
200 in the room. Just two minutes before
8 o'clock DR.. Morris introduced Mr.. Far
we'll, who at once launched into defense
of his right to speak, which he claimed he
had by reason of heavy property interests
in the state. He made a comparison of
this state with Illinois, and said, despite
the large cities, he thought prohibition
would have good show in the
latter, only the law-maklng powers
wouldn't give the folks whack at
the question. He said the politicians
were to blame for this, and thought that
every body ought to go for the men wac
were guided by the saloons. The saloons
ha !,
BILE. Mr.. Farwell freely admitted that
prohibition is a political question, and
went on to say that he wanted to see the
solid south broken, and if prohibition
would accomplish the object, he would be
glad of it. He wanted to see every man
have the right to vote as he pleased. He
wouldn't live in a country which
did not give that right. He de-
clared without hesitation that the pro-
hibItion party was started to break
up the solid north, and wasted no
words when talking about the "pernicious
power of the 1873 electoral votes of the
south in politics. He qualified, howeve
his utterances little later by saying that
a solid north and solid south were both
wrong. Mr.. Farwell then branched off into
a semi-religious discussion of the general
question of temperance, but in little
while got back to the political situation,
assuring his audience that the presidential
chair was not likely to be disturbed by the
prohibition question in the immediate
future. Mr.. Farwel is first-rate anec-
dotist, and some of his stories were wen
put - in fact, may be said to have
surpassed his arguments.
He attacked Mr.. Grain on his reference
to the preachers; made a warm defense of
the ministry, and said the congressman
ought to be in better business than talk
ing as he had done. He .intimated that
Mr.. Grain was receiving pay for making
anti-prOhibition speeches, and said that
whether he was or not, he certainly was
drawing Il salary as member OF the
United States congress. He did not say
so in so many words, but he left four
feet wide inference that Mr.. Grain had
made false statement in his speech, but
he did not particularly specify in what
particular it occurred. He, however, went
for the work "One Hundred Years OF
Temperance" as being uuauthoritative
and unreliable.
lhe SPEAKER AGAIN Juupeu ~ OhO 00i
monizing platform and in the course OF
his remarks declared that visiting saloons
sends man to hell-iust where he ought
to go to. He distinctly declared that he
didn't want to say anything against
saloon keepers, because they are brought
up to believe it all right. In the south 1t
is not considered a crime. 1t was the
system he was after and he thought that
any system which educates the support OF
ninety-three saloons, as there are IN
Austin, was to be condemned.
He paid the people of Texas high
compliment by saying that they are
shrewd traders-shrewd enough to put off
100000 acres of land on the prettlest
boundary of the state upon the men they
were trading with, and not only did that,
but stretched the land out 200
miles in length. The whole of the balance
of the state will have to be filled with i'm
migration before this will every come
into market.
Mr.. Farwell's discourse was somewhat
rambling throughout, was well Plastered
with anecdotes, and in several points
caused applause.